Pride
by The Sarcastic Typo
Summary: You don't need pride. NickHodges.


**Title: **Pride  
**Summary: **You don't need pride.  
**Pairing, etc:** Nick/Hodges  
**Word Count: **1640  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**A/N: **Written for Kate. Heart, girl. Thanks for the beta, Kelly.

David Hodges prided himself on being insufferable.

He knew his sarcasm and his dry, mocking remarks drove just about all of the CSIs he worked with close to insane. He knew a lot of them wanted to hit him over the head a few times and he took an immense satisfaction in being able to come up with _just_ the right cutting quip to earn that special glare most of them had. It was all a game, to him. A game he won regularly.

However, he was becoming increasingly aware that there was one man who could beat him: Nick Stokes. All Nick had to do was shoot him one of those warm half-smiles or stand just a _millimeter_ too close to him and his brain, unhelpfully, packed up, shut down, and set out one of those signs reading: 'Out to lunch. Be back in ten minutes.' This did not sit well with Hodges.

Hodges was also pretty sure that Nick knew and did it on purpose. Those smiles were always a watt brighter around him, and he always stood a bit too close. It was infuriating. Didn't he care that Hodges had a reputation to maintain? Some people were just so inconsiderate.

David had finally decided that this would happen no more. He would get over his schoolgirl-like reaction to Nick Stokes this instant. Now. Today. At least, that's what he told himself. Of course, because the universe generally liked to screw with him, that plan was thrown out the window, never to be found again, the moment Nick walked into the lab. Life wasn't fair.

"Hey, Hodges." That damned _smile_. How dare it be so attractive? "Got those results for me?"

"Certainly, Stokes. The machine works double speed just for you." Good, David. Stay sarcastic. Sarcasm is safe.

"Right. I forgot the machine isn't as fond of me as you are." Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Nothing. I'll just wait." Oh, now the fake innocence. And _why_ did he have to "wait" so _close_? Sure, to anyone else, Nick would be a respectable distance away. But David Hodges wasn't anyone else.

Hodges narrowed his eyes. He didn't need this man in his lab making his heart do flip flops and his stomach fill up with - what was it, butterflies? Felt more like pterodactyls. "You don't have any crime scenes to investigate or bad guys to capture?"

"Not until I get those results." Damn smile. He'd never have agreed to this without it.

"Don't get in my way."

"Scout's honor."

XxXxX

The beeping of the machine as it finally finished its job had never sounded so melodic to David's ears, before. Of course, he hadn't had a handsome CSI sitting in his lab watching his every move before, either. He'd almost dropped three test tubes and nearly ran into the printer twice. David didn't like this one bit. No one had ever affected him as much as Nick did.

"Results. Now leave." _Please_ leave, he added silently. If not for Hodges' sanity then at least for the sake of the evidence.

"Aw, Hodges, I'm hurt. Here I was thinking you liked my company."

"That's what you get for thinking." Hodges turned away from that lovely grin that reached the man's beautiful brown eyes and started working on someone else's tests. Or at least he _tried_ to. He could still feel Nick's eyes on him. "What _now_?" he asked, exasperated. Did the man have nothing _better_ to do than torture him?

"You're cute when you're flustered." And with that, Nick was gone.

Hodges really _did_ drop the test tube that time.

XxXxX

To say that David Hodges was a little shaken up or confused would be a gross understatement. Ever since the incident in the lab the previous day, he didn't know what to think. It had appeared as though Nick had called him cute.

Oh, how the universe hated him.

He was shorter than usual today, his remarks more cutting than normal. Even Greg, who normally liked to quip back, knew that messing with David Hodges today would result in an untimely death. It was known by lunch time that if you could avoid the technician that day, you should. Something was bugging him, and he was taking it out on everyone else.

He _knew_ Nick had heard the warning because he'd overheard Warrick mentioning it to him and he hoped he would heed it. Hodges didn't want to deal with the man's brain-stealing smile and clumsiness-inducing looks and heart-flipping closeness. Besides, the man had no reason to visit the lab that day. He'd given him his blasted results.

But he knew he shouldn't have expected anything to go his way. As if on cue, Nick appeared in the doorway of his lab, smile in place - was it a bit _smug_, today? Hodges looked up, wary. What did this man _want_ from him? "Unless you've got a twin, I've already given you your results."

"Who says I'm here for results?" Nick looked genuinely curious, looking around as though there was some little man nearby spreading rumors about his reason for his journey down to the lab.

"Well, this _is_ a lab, where people have things tested so they can do their _jobs_, but then, you seem to have better things to do, like annoy poor, unsuspecting lab techs. My mistake."

"Do I annoy you?"

"Yes!" Hodges exclaimed, only half-lying. The man was infuriatingly irritating - how _dare_ he be able to affect Hodges when he worked so hard to not be affected by _anyone_!

"So you'd say no if I asked you to breakfast this morning, after shift?"

Hodges stared. Thoughts? Sarcasm? Coherency? What was that, again? "I..." Oh, _that_ was clever, David. Nice job.

"Because I was going to ask you out, but if I annoy you so much, I guess I-"

"No!" Hodges interjected, suddenly, before looking sheepish at Nick's smug look. "I mean, I'll go."

"Great. Meet me outside by the entrance after shift." And Nick was gone again.

Hodges sighed. He'd just agreed to ...a date? with Nick Stokes. He wasn't going to survive this.

XxXxX

He'd actually agreed to a date with Nick Stokes. _What_ had he been thinking?

The panic hadn't set in until about ten minutes before his shift was due to end. How could he have done such a rash thing? How could he have willingly put himself in the presence of the man who screwed up his reactions and thoughts and just about everything he had under control? Was he _trying_ to make himself look like an idiot?

He wondered if he could just leave early, and escape. No, Nick probably had people watching the doors. Maybe he could exit through a window? Nah, that'd probably be too hard and he'd end up hurting himself. He spent the last ten minutes of shift thinking of an escape plan, before realizing that it was too late. He'd have to go through with this.

Hodges took a deep breath and headed to the entrance.

XxXxX

The breakfast diner was a nice place, Hodges thought. Not too expensive but high enough quality. Nick obviously had good taste. Hodges ignored the fact that he was seemingly interested in him. That didn't count.

Hodges was nervous, that much he knew. He didn't like being nervous. He did stupid things.

"You can calm down, you know. I'm not going to bite."

"Biting's the least of my worries." Oh, God. Had he really just _said_ that?

Apparently he had, because Nick smirked and turned a little red. "Oh? Then what _is_ your worry?"

"That I'm going to make a horrible fool of myself." Well, he'd already screwed up. Might as well go for broke.

"I don't think you're a fool, David. I like you. That's why I asked you out." Those eyes were so sincere - were eyes _allowed_ to be that brown and honest? And that voice, so soft, suggested that it couldn't tell anything but the truth. His mind screamed at him, his heart was still doing flip flops, and those butterfly-pterodactyl hybrids in his stomach were flapping around full force. It was all too much.

"I don't know _why_."

"Because you're smart, funny, and not bad looking when you smile. You should do it more often."

For once, David didn't have anything to say.

XxXxX

When Nick kissed him, David thought that it was all worth it.

Being affected by someone, the damn smiles making his brain fail, the closeness and the butterflies, the looks and the clumsiness, the bad mood, the infuriating way he slipped under his defenses undetected until it was too late - it was all worth it.

Nick had dropped him off at his place, and had stopped inside for some coffee - decaf, as they both still had to sleep. They'd been on the couch, talking, when Nick had leaned in and kissed him. His lips were soft and nice and sent sparks of heat down David's body. His tongue sliding into his mouth to battle with his own tongue had caused his brain to short-circuit and he'd have sworn that nuclear fission was taking place among his brain cells if he'd cared at the time. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, and he didn't _care_. He just wanted _more_ of the wonderful man who could turn his world upside down without making David want to lift a finger to try and stop him.

When they broke apart, Hodges was delighted to see that Nick looked just as affected by their kiss has he probably did. Their breathing was irregular, their eyes were lidded, and their lips were swollen. It was perfect.

"You can hang around my lab any time," Hodges mumbled, and Nick chuckled. Hodges would've minded being laughed at, but then Nick kissed him again.

Pride? What was that? Who _really_ needed it?

Not David Hodges.

_-_End


End file.
